Not quite I said isolation exercises are inferior for building mass and strength It depends on the program i use. In this program, pre-contest, i wanted a bicep exercise for the following reasons:- I need it at least psychologically for my arms - I need my arms to be in top-shape, as i think they are my weak point. I'm running low on calories at the moment, so any muscle not used is prone to atrophy. - And i wanted an exercise more on that day.

About the abs: i don't think crunches and such are really isolation exercises. Okay, the machine is, but that exercise is completely new to me. The machine has the advantage that i can raise the load, therefore it's in this program.

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it would be cool if after your contest you gave the strength work a proper bash again (refering to you wishing you did more on VF)! you gotta use those monster pecs and back muscles to give us some heavy benching and straight leg deads! you are only 5kg off 500kg i should remind you. if you made it, on the strength table there would be 6people with totals over 500kg and 16 with totals over 400kg

Actually i hope that in spite of the diet, i can improve my strength a little with this intense modified HST program. At day 12 i'll be doing 12 reps with 120kg or 122,5kg on the bench (if it works as planned...), after that, i might be able to push my PB a bit further Anyway, after the comp i plan to do a strength cycle again, and after that another, and another At the moment, i'm too far away to improve my total by other means than the bench, but i reckon it won't take too long until i can deadlift a reasonably heavy weight again So the last word is not spoken yet :lol

No no, not in one set! 12 reps in total! Tomorrow i start with 100kg for 12 reps, probably i'll be doing two sets with 6 reps each. The key is to avoid muscle failure. Two days later i'll be benching 105kg, say, 5, 4, 3 reps. Then on saturday 110kg for maybe 4, 3, 3, 2 reps. You get the idea. It's modified HST.
The 120 will be heavy, so i'll probably end up doing 12 sets

The workout was ... unique Ten days ago, i had sub-luxated both my shoulders I was afraid i wouldn't be able to bench press without luxating them again.

Bench press: Started with 20kg, the bar only. Went well, no pain, no snapping. 40kg, slight sting in the right shoulder. 60kg, slight sting in both shoulders. 80kg, terrible pain in both shoulders, though the weight felt very easy i had to fight for every rep. I almost quitted, but then i thought of the competition, and that the weight itself felt easy, it was only pain. Pain is only a feeling, but i was still afraid of the 100kg to snap my shoulders. So i did 100kg: 5, 4, 3 reps. Was very angry with me. I couldn't do other than ultra slow reps on the down-movement, then normal speed up. My shoulders burnt and i considered being smart after every rep, but then again, at least they didn't snap. What made me even more angry that i was wearing my "Vegan Fitness Team" Shirt and then i was making sounds and face as if the few reps 100kg was heavy as hell But it was only the pain, damn.
I really was pissed and saw all my hopes for the competition floating down the gutter My shoulders were really uncomfortably hurting after the bench.

Next exercise, incline bench dumbell flies. I was anxious if i could do it without pain, and i could! No pain, nothing. If the shoulders don't get better, i'll have to replace the bench press by flies until the comp and afterwards heal my shoulders.

Dips:
As with the flies, i was afraid, but the dips worked well But after the super slow bench, the 35kg strapped on felt quite heavy, so i did 4, 5, 1 reps

Barbell press:
This brought me down again. The empty bar for warm-up was okay, but then the 50kg literally stopped me. I did a clean but was completely unable to press it up. My shoulders just refused to press, i was paralyzed After some low kicks at the power cage and angry mutters to myself ( i kept thinking it's only the pain, it's nothing serious, my shoulders are okay) i tried again and managed 2 slow reps. I must have looked like i was being tortured while going for a one rep max Then i dropped the weight to 40kg and did 3 slow reps, but then it was over. Impossible to go on

Upright row:
Easy going, painless 10 reps with 40kg (2 extra reps to compensate the lacking reps in the press). So if anything else fails, i still can do dips, flies and upright row

Squats:
The best part of the workout. My knee didn't hurt (almost - after the agony of my shoulders it was nothing) so i did very easy 7 and 5 reps with 115kg for a 12 rep total. Could have done 12 in one set but didn't want to exaggerate, i just did slow and perfect form today.

After the workout i was really in bad mood, as you can imagine. My shoulders were still hurting.

But THEN i drove to meet a gym owner i know, i had made an appointment with him to get his advice for the competition (he's a real pro coach). He was so enthusiastic and optimistic, he really cheered me up! He gave me tons of great advice! And he was overwhelmed by my shape He agreed to study the posing routine with me, he and his wife (who is Ms. Universe by the way! )
When i left his gym 90minutes later, i was completely turned around, optimistic and ready to kick ass at the contest And now i even know how! What a day, really!

Now i'm gonna buy a scale for weighing my food, and then i'll write a diet-log.

Bench press: Instead of increasing the weight to 105kg, i decided to try 102,5, which shouldn't feel different from 100 But my shoulders brought me to stop after two singles. I think i need to give the time to cure, and do dips and stuff instead Flies: 12 reps* with 18kg.
Dips: 4, 3, 3, 2 reps with 40kg.
Barbell press: reduced the weight to 40kg so i was able to do 5 and 5 slow reps Upright row: 8 and 4 reps* with 45kg.
Squats: comfortable 6 and 6 reps with 120kg.
Calves: Standing machine, 120kg for 6 and 6 reps, loaded stretching between each rep for 5, and between the sets for 30 seconds.
Abs: Side crunches mainly.

Day 12:
Replaced the barbell bench press by dumbell bench press, i wanted to see if that's better for my shoulders. Unfortunately, the heaviest dumbells are only 40,5kg. But for today, i did 31kg for 10 reps (easy) and decided to try the next heavier ones, 36,5kg. They were just a bit to heavy for my sulking shoulders, so i did 5 reps before i stopped.
Inclined bench dumbell flies: 22kg for 10 reps.
Dips: 45kg for 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 reps. It was much heavier than i expected I did only singles to avoid too much exhaustion or muscle failure, and kept the breaks short.
Barbell press: Didn't increase the weight today, wanted to rest my shoulders a bit. 40kg for 5, 8 reps.
Upright row: 47,5kg for 6, 6 reps (i do 12 reps total instead of the planned .
Squats: 125kg for 3, 5, 4 reps. Easy, short breaks Calves, standing: 130kg for 6, 6 reps.
Abs: Crunches.

After the workout: Just a little Tiramisu to give me my strength back

The workouts have reached the state of getting heavy Can't wait until tomorrow, when it's back day again

Pull-ups: 45kg for 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1 reps. Actually it's too heavy for me to use perfect form, therefore i think i won't increase again next workout (will be the last anyway). I calculated the weights based on my strength on pull ups with supinated grip, but pronated are harder as i know now...
Barbell row: 110kg for 3, 3, 3, 3 reps.
T-Bar: 95kg for 3, 3, 2 reps.
Deadlift (stiffed leg): 150kg for 2, 3, 4, 3 reps. I have to admit my grip strength was really limiting Dumbell-curls on the inclined bench: 16kg for 8, then 18kg for 6 reps.
Barbell shrugs: 165kg for 2, 3, 3 reps.
Pull-overs: 55kg for 5, 5 reps. Quite heavy I've never done more than 40kg dumbell before and this is quite different.
Calves (seated): 110kg for 6, 6 reps. Actually a bit easy for the day. Next time gonna be 120kg.
Abs machine: 70kg for 3, 3, 3, 3 reps. (15-20 secs in between)

I did short breaks between most sets (~60 seconds, some slightly longer, some shorter.).
It's getting heavy! My next cycle is gonna be a bit different, but similar. Starting a bit lighter, ending as heavy, but with pull-ups supinated and barbell row pronated. Shrugs a bit lighter maybe. Calves heavier from the start.

i have noticed that my forearms have grown nicely since doing the grippers, and that they are without a doubt the most dense muscle on my body (its almost like wood, even when cold).

i recommend just getting a couple of grippers, say the CoC#1 and 2, and working with those. obviously other brands will do the same job, but i have been very happy with mine, and they are quite good value.
i used to have probs with grip when my deadlift max was around 165kg, but then since grip training, it is virtually never an issue

you training routine looks excellent btw - not sure i could handle that volume though! lol!

Jonathan, you call that high volume? Hmhm, it depends But i guess it's working: maintaining mass while burning fat.
I can't afford grippers at the moment, i'm very short on cash. But someday sure. Until then, the lockout has got to do the job. And other barbell exercises.

BUT THAT WAS NOT ALL!
Today i also had a FULL BODY SHAVE! It took some time, and it feels strange It's especially interesting when putting on clothes afterwards ... But it was a cool effect - i seemed to grow in front of my eyes as the hair came off. And get more shredded at the same time

Maybe i'm exaggerating a little with my diet, i'm already in shape, but the contest is still a month off. I have to eat more in order to maintain my muscles

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